A Wall Street fraudster pleaded guilty to stealing over $3.5 million from a Bronx church and Villanova University in separate schemes, the state Attorney General’s office​ has  announced.

Anthony Nyame, of The Bronx, had convinced members of the First Ghana Seventh Day Adventist Church to fork over investment cash by convincing them that he could secure millions of dollars in additional seed money, officials said.

The manipulative moneyman also managed to steal $2.7 million from Villanova University by convincing them to send a payment intended for a vendor to his own account through the use of a fake email.

“It is simply appalling that anyone would choose to fleece universities and churches to line their own pockets,” said state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “New Yorkers deserve to know that when they seek to grow their organizations there isn’t a fraudster lurking in the shadows.”

Nyame, 59, convinced members of the church that he could secure a $30 million loan to help them build a structure on their property if they coughed up enough money for collateral.

He instead used the dough for his own ends – including $71,000 in cash withdrawals, $47,000 to pay for a Wall Street apartment and an additional $26,000 on personal goods.

Nyame authored countless fake emails to his unwitting marks to bolster the cons – and even doctored several notes to make them appear to be from former Under Secretary David Cohen, officials said.

Nyame copped to four counts of grand larceny. If he pays $800,000 in restitution, he’ll serve one year in jail. He faces three to nine years in prison if he doesn’t make the payment.

 

Source: New York Post